Key To My Heart
by Velocity3127
Summary: Laura gives Ross the key that could potentially unlock her biggest secret. He wants to find out, but he also doesn't want to have his heart broken. But soon it's the last day of filming and they find themselves saying goodbye. It's now or never, but what if he doesn't want to find out? Raura oneshot!


**Author's note: here is a new Raura oneshot! This is based on the fact that Laura has a heart-shaped lock charm on a necklace and Ross has a heart-shaped key charm on his necklace. Coincidence? I think not. And I know Ross probably got his necklace before Laura got hers, and Laura doesn't _always_ wear her necklace, but it's just for the story. Maybe no one cares? Anyways...** **I hope you enjoy it!**

* * *

He was always mystified by the heart-shaped lock that she wore on her necklace. Everyone was, really. And she was always so secretive about it; it was as if she was hiding something. So, being the curious person he always was, Ross decided to sneak into her dressing room after filming a scene. He knew that she was going to come back soon, so he had to hurry. She wasn't wearing the necklace during that scene, so it must have been somewhere in her dressing room. He looked all around, but the silver necklace was nowhere to be found. Suddenly, he spotted her purse lying on a table. It must have been in there.

"Ross, what are you doing in my dressing room?"

He spun around and smiled guiltily. "Hey, Laura...um...I was just..."

Laura raised an eyebrow as he failed to find a suitable response.

"Come on, Ross, what were you doing?" she asked.

"Okay, fine. I was...I was looking for your necklace so that I could see what it's all about." he confessed. "I was just curious, I promise, I wasn't trying to do anything. And I didn't find it, either. I'm sorry, Laura."

She smiled with relief. She rarely parted with her necklace, and the one time that she did, he almost found it. But he didn't. She would never admit it, but she had more feelings for Ross than she would ever let out. Him finding the necklace could potentially give it all away.

"That's okay, Ross." she said. "But I'm glad you didn't find it. I don't know if...you really want to find out everything."

His heart sank a little. Ross didn't usually fall for random girls, contrary to popular belief. But his fun-loving, energetic co-star gave him feelings that he couldn't explain, and her statement made it sound like she was implying that she didn't want to crush his last remaining feelings. Did she like another guy? She had given him no indication that she was even interested in him, but that didn't stop him from hoping that she did.

She sat down next to him on the couch inside her dressing room, silent for a little while. He didn't say anything, either, but he just waited until she spoke.

"Look, Ross..." she began, "I know that our lives are super busy and everything, and I know that we're just co-stars, turned best friends, working on the same show, but I trust you with my life."

He nodded. "I feel the same way."

"So...I'm going to give you this." she said, handing him a silver key in the shape of a heart. "It opens the lock on my necklace. It's...it's the key to my heart. And only when you're ready, you can ask me to open it. But only when you're ready."

He nodded again. He didn't know what was inside the necklace, and he was sure curious, but he also knew that he wasn't ready to have his heart broken. He'd rather stay uncertain than know for sure.

"Thanks, Laura." he said quietly.

* * *

The next day, he showed up to work wearing a new necklace. At first glance, it looked like the one that he always had. It was a silver chain around his neck, with a small silver charm. It went unnoticed until halfway through the morning, when Calum walked up to him.

"Hey, Ross, is that a new necklace?" he asked.

Ross nodded, but offered no further response. Calum didn't ask for one. He had a sneaking suspicion that his friend had something new going on, something new and important.

"Ross, can I talk to you?" Laura asked as she walked up to him.

"Sure," he replied, walking with her down the hall.

"Why are you wearing the key on your necklace?" she asked.

He looked down at her neck and saw the heart-shaped lock. It was so close, he could reach down and open it if he wanted to. But although he was curious, he was also respectful of her trust, so he didn't do anything. He also wasn't ready.

"I just wanted to have it with me at all times," he finally said. "You know how I lose things easily. And I didn't want to betray your trust and lose it. I know how important this is to you."

She smiled. "Thanks, Ross. I really appreciate it."

They didn't talk about it any more for the rest of the day, but they both didn't stop thinking about it. It didn't take long for everyone else on set to notice Ross's new necklace, but no one made the connection with Laura's.

* * *

Three years passed and Ross hadn't asked Laura about her necklace. Over those years, though, her feelings for him increased tenfold. She didn't go a day without thinking of him and wistfully imagining what it would be like for him to reciprocate those feelings.

He would never admit it to her, but he didn't go a day thinking about her necklace throughout the three years that had passed. He couldn't help but secretly hope that whatever his key revealed was about him, whatever it was.

But time went on and it was soon the last day on set and they were about to finish filming the show. It was emotional for everyone, but even more so for the two of them. Ross still didn't feel ready to ask Laura about her necklace, and she wasn't about tell him any time soon.

They had already finished filming the last scene, and everyone was holding back tears. This was it. They would never be Austin and Ally again, just Ross and Laura. And although they promised to keep in touch, Laura was already worried that he would soon forget about her as his career grew. It was what always happened with Disney stars.

He was in the process of packing up all of his things in his dressing room, already missing everything. He knew that everyone assumed that he would forget all about his Disney career and just put it behind him, but he knew otherwise. The show would always have a special place in his heart, like the girl that he had met through it. He had worn the key to her heart for the last two years, never letting it go. Some people might've thought it naïve or foolish, but he couldn't help himself. He was positive that she was the love of his life.

"Hey, Ross." his door opened as Laura walked in, interrupting his thoughts.

He turned around. "Hey, Laura."

"I'm going to miss you so much, Ross." she said, walking up to him. "Promise you'll keep in touch, no matter how big your career gets."

"I promise." he replies, hugging her tightly. "And I'm going to miss you so much, too. I can't believe that it's all over. We're not Austin and Ally anymore, we're just...Ross and Laura."

She hugged him tighter, not saying anything. There was nothing that she could say, because she knew that he understood what she was feeling anyways. At least, about leaving the set forever. He would never understand how she loved him. And that was okay, because they would always be friends, and that was enough for her. She knew that life wasn't a fairytale, and she might not get the perfect happy ending, but she was already so lucky to have Ross as her friend.

After a long moment, they finally separated from their hug. Ross's eyebrows furrowed as he heard a click and something fall to the ground. What could it be? He looked down and saw a silver heart. As they hugged, his key had somehow unlocked her lock. He quickly picked it up to give back to Laura, but then kept it in his hand.

"Ross!" she cried, grabbing at the heart-shaped lock in his hand.

He pulled his hand away quickly, though, closing his hand on the charm. He was internally conflicted. If he opened his hand, he could just see it and possibly reveal all of Laura's secrets. He could finally find out the guy that he was hopelessly competing with for her heart.

But he didn't want to find out. It would crush him, he would be devastated if he looked. So he should have given back the charm. Besides, he was only supposed to find out when he was ready, and he didn't think he would ever be ready to have his heart broken by the only girl he had ever loved.

"Ross!" she exclaimed again, even more panicked. "Please!"

He looked down at her distraught face. She was near tears, silently pleading for him to return her charm. He didn't know it, but she was afraid that he wasn't ready to find out her secret, especially since they were about to leave each other. He might never talk to her again.

All he saw, though, was the love of his life, even if she didn't feel the same way. With this realization, he knew that he _had_ to find out who she loved. It didn't matter if it left him heartbroken. It didn't matter if she got mad at him. He couldn't spend the rest of his life with a hopeless dream.

"Ross...?" she squeaked, quieter this time. "Ross, give it back!"

He smiled apologetically at her as he slowly opened his hand. For the first time ever, he saw the lock unlocked, revealing that it was actually a locket that could be opened.

"Ross...please..." Laura whispered, barely audible.

Part of him wanted to just give the locket back to her, but another, more insistent part of him knew that he had to open it. So he did, slowly, bracing himself for whatever he would find. And when he finally looked inside, he was confused at first. There was a simple inscription in fancy script.

 _R + L._

"Ross...?" she whispered.

Then it struck him. R + L. The L stood for Laura. And the R stood for...Ross?

"Laur...?" he whispered. "Is that...?"

She nodded with tears in her eyes. "I didn't want you to find out this way...I'm sorry, Ross..."

His eyes widened as he grabbed her hands. She had just confirmed his wildest dream. And it was all because of that necklace. He'd hoped for three years, but he'd really never imagined that it could be true that she felt the same way about him.

"Laura," he said softly, "I can't believe..."

"I'm sorry!" she cried, trying to break away from his grip on her. "I'm sorry, Ross."

"No, Laura, listen to me." he said, holding her tightly while forcing her to look at him. "I feel the same way."

Her eyes widened and she stopped trying to break away from his grip, instead succumbing to his grasp on her.

"Laura," he continued, "I don't know if today's the day to tell you, but it's been three years since you gave me the key to your heart and it's been three years since I realized that I love you. I love you, Laura. I really do."

"You do?" she whispered, looking shyly up at him.

"I do, I love you, Laura." he replied, caressing her cheek. "And I know that some people might say that I can't possibly love you, we're just friends, but I know otherwise."

"I love you, too." she whispered, kissing his cheek. "I love you, I love you, I love you!"

He smiled as he brought her into a hug. It all seemed so surreal, like it wasn't even possible. Was it even possible? Was he dreaming? If it was a dream, he never wanted it to end. Laura _loved_ him.

"Why did you give me the key even though you thought I didn't have feelings for you?" he asked, still hugging her.

"I really wanted you to know..." she replied, "but I didn't have the guts to tell you myself. I regretted it at times, but now I think it all worked out."

She looked up at him and he leaned down to kiss her. It wasn't unlike any of the kisses they'd shared as Austin and Ally, it was full of emotion and love, but it was even more passionate now that they knew that they really did love each other.

Laura finally broke the kiss, gasping for air, as Ross picked her up and spun her around, just as Austin did to Ally in Duets & Destiny.

"Look, Laura," he said once he put her down. "I know it's going to be really hard on you if we date, so I don't want to force you to do anything...but will you be my girlfriend?"

"Ross, you know I love you, of course I'll be your girlfriend." she replied, smiling. "I don't care if I get a lot of hate. It'll be hard, but it'll be harder not being with you. There's no way I can make it without you, remember?"

He smiled and kissed her on the nose, causing her to laugh. "I...own this dream," he sang.

"'Cause I...got you with me!" she continued.

They both burst into laughter for a few moments, but then their expressions turned solemn. They were both already missing each other, knowing that they would no longer have time to see each other because the show ended. Laura was going to college, and Ross was going on tour with R5.

"I'm going to miss you," they said in unison.

"Whenever I'm in LA, I'll make sure to find you." Ross told Laura. "I know you'll be busy, but I'll be there."

"And whenever I'm off from school, I'll join you guys on tour." she told him.

The door opened slowly, both of them turning around to see Calum walk in.

"Hey guys," he said. "I'm going to miss you two so much!"

Ross and Laura didn't hesitate to run over to Calum and share a group hug. Over the years, no cast members had gotten as close as Ross and Laura, but Calum was one of their best friends along with Raini. They were like family, just like Austin, Ally, Dez, and Trish.

"Group hug!" Raini exclaimed, running into the room and joining her friends.

They finally separated from their hug and looked at each other in silence.

"Man, I'm going to miss you all." Calum finally said.

Everyone nodded their agreement. There was really nothing left to say, they were as close as friends could be and they understood each other without words.

"On the plus side," Calum continued, "Ross and Laura can finally date! The show's over! Rejoice!"

"Raura shippers...rejoice!" Raini laughed, imitating Helen from the Helen Show in Duets & Destiny.

Laura blushed and held Ross's hand in hers, but neither said anything to contradict their two enthusiastic supporters.

Calum's jaw dropped. "Wait...you two aren't going to say anything? No 'come on, you know we're just friends'? No 'Calum, you're being embarrassing!'?"

"Well..." Laura and Ross said at the same time.

"You two are already together?" Calum exclaimed excitedly. "Finally! I knew it! Yay, Raura is real!"

"Aw, congrats!" Raini exclaimed, a little more composed than Calum. "You guys are perfect for each other, I'm glad you finally noticed."

Ross looked down at his necklace and smiled. "Yeah, I'm really happy, too."

Laura flung her arms around his neck lovingly. She was really overwhelmed with emotion, with the show ending, then _finally_ finding out Ross's feelings for her. It was bittersweet, with the sadness of knowing that she might not see her friends for a while, and with happiness, knowing that Ross would always be there for her and that he loved her just as much as she loved him.

"Well, it's getting really late," Calum said with a sigh.

Everyone nodded, knowing that they had to leave the set soon. They shared one last group hug, before saying tearful goodbyes, and they left the building, not knowing when they would see each other again. But they all knew that they would reunite at some point or another, and when that time came, they would all jump on the opportunity. They would miss each other during the time away from each other, but they would always remember the show that brought them together.

They would always remember the first audition that they each did, the first episode that they filmed, and the first time they considered themselves to be friends and not just colleagues. They would always remember Austin and Ally's first kiss, and every kiss, Dez's jokes, and Trish's many jobs. Most of all, they would always remember each other.

These were all of their thoughts leaving each other.

"I love you, Ross," Laura said to him, right before getting into her car to leave.

All of the memories of the last four years came back to him with those four words. She had said them before, but now they were leaving for real. And no matter what happened, they would always be friends. Best friends.

"I love you, too, Laura."

* * *

 **Author's note: Okay, so the ending kind of took a turn from where I had originally planned it to go, but that's the end! Sorry. It wasn't supposed to be that sad. It was just supposed to be fluffy. I hope you liked it anyways! And as always, feedback is appreciated!**


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